Some of us need the silence but still would like to do overclock what seems to be most frequently updated component in system (graphics card in my case, and it usually is not cheap).
I put Zalman 80A-HP on my rig. It works fine if kind of hot for normal condition. My case has air flow from bottom front to top back (which most of people do). I thought to myself, I know there is enough airflow going through the case, but how is it really going through? (considering the fans are running at 800-1250 RPM to keep the case quiet) I did 2 test.
Keep in mind that I have no side air intake vent which tend to create more noise.
1) As is at top usage: CPU 54c, GPU 57c (at top heatsink).
2) Using Zalman fan mount 123, place a 80mm vantec stealth fan on top of GPU card blowing down. CPU 51c, GPU 49c. Considering the distance from case to fan's intake side, there really isn't much airflow but it does help. (fan is running at 800RPM)
3) Created a fan mount that mounts to HDD and direct the inlet air right to GPU card blowing upward at 30 angle. CPU 48c, GPU 46c!
Not only did it help cooling the GPU, it also takes the cool air more efficiently to CPU now.
Adding more fan to take air in and out is one thing... but directing flow at one point seems like much more efficient method to me at this point. (If silence is of essence... now if I had all fans blowing at full 2200 RPM, I would doubt if I see any differences with these setup really).

That brings up a question I had, does anyone know if its bad on the bearings for a fan to be mounted at an odd angle, other than parrallel or perpendicular?

In my experiance yes, but only after a long time.

I tried cooling my heatpipe with three 92mm fans held together with meccano (which is a great modding tool btw) at ~3v It worked pretty well, but in the end I got fed up of it getting in the way so I just have one now

i don't know about everyone else, but i have run 3dmark2001se in loops for about 2-3 hrs, opened the case, and felt the top and bottom heatsinks of my zm80a-hp on my ti4600 card. so far, the bottom (directly on gpu) is quite cool that I can comfortably place my fingers on it. the top heatsink is kept very cool with the combo of a br123 and NMB 92mm fan (from directron.com) that is undervolted to 5V by a zalman multi-connector. i also have a 5V Vantec 80mm and 5V Panaflo L1A in the rear of the case (chieftec dragon) as exhaust. so far, all of the runs with 3dmark have run flawlessly (no arifacts, etc), and i have been able to run all of my games fine. just my little two cents.

Interesting post re angle of fans. I just ordered the ZM80A-HP along with a Papst 80mm fan and Nexus NX-3000 PSU. It was my intention to try and fit the fan to the Zalman 123 bracket thus:



That would mean the fan is blowing right on the GPU, providing of course that I can adjust it correctly. The other, easier, option would be to simply attach the fan to the bracket at 90º - this may even be advantageous as it would be blowing on both sides of the video card.

I don't have a fan at the lower front of my case so I was wondering if it would perhaps be a better idea to fit the fan somewhere down there so that it would blow through the case towards the PSU's exhaust fan. Or indeed, perhaps I should fit two fans, one in the lower front area of the case and the other to the Zalman bracket, which leads me to my next question...

where do these fans get their power? 3-pins plug into the mobo and 4-pins to the PSU, would that be right? So if I have already used the 3-pin connector for my CPU HSF, where do I plug in any additional fans?

Thanks

Cams

You can get splitters which convert PSU (4pin) connectors into 1 or more 3pin fan connectors eg this. Or you can get fans which have PSU connectors on them in some places.

Another idea: Check your graphics card. Some of them have fan leads. My PNY Geforce Ti4400, for example, has a 3 pin and a two pin fan lead on it, so I can plug in one of my fans using that.

Ok I have another question, which part of the zm80a-hp benefits most from have cool airflow across it? Ive seen alot of people cooling it from the side, thereby getting both heatsinks at once, but has anyone tryed cooling just the top heatsink, or just the bottom one?

The design makes use of a heat pipe, transferring the heat generated by the bottom heatsink to the heatsink/radiator thing at the top.

So, only the top part needs to be cooled. (After all, the heat pipe will transfer all the heat to the top anyway, so as long as the top part is cooled properly, it should work.)

I don't have the ZM80*-HP myself, so I haven't actually tried it. But that's the basic idea behind the design.

I decided to blow air using a much quieter fan on the stock heatsink for the graphics card instead, so I do need a "bottom" fan.

Okay... I've been lazy...
The only reason I did side cooling was since it was convenient at one point.
The cotracept I put in is after some thoughts.
I found even BETTER method...
Placed the fan right on top of top heatsink with double sided tape blowing down (air blows up right around fan and this is better than blowing up as it grabs air better for some reason)...
The temp dropped another few degree and I can definitely feel the heat pipe working much more effectively. (Heatpipe is hotter, front and rear heatsink is cooler as it is dissipating enough heat already as is)
I should have posted when I did it but got lazy....
That would be my new recommendation at this point unless I figure something else out.

Remarkable! Any chance of a picture? I've had shipping confirmation of my HS and fan and have my fingers crossed for delivery tomorrow!

I may just try your sticky-tape tip!

Cams